I’m in Tel Aviv this week!  It’s so fun to see all my friends here.  Been running around faster than I can write it, so I may need to sleep off this vacation when I get back.

Above is just a public beach in the center of town.  There are umbrellas, chairs, and cabanas all ready.  The water’s warm, and there are breakers to calm the waves.  The sand is combed frequently, and there are showers + foot faucets.  It’s super civilized.  I basically only go to the beach in Israel.

That’s a view from my hotel.  I love this place (Dan Tel Aviv).  The breakfast is also out of control.  This was the savory part this morning:

Clockwise from the top: smoked salmon with dill, smoked salmon with pepper, tabouleh with quinoa, Israeli salad, green olives, potato bourekas, hazelnut/raisin bread.  omg.  The salmon looks a little radioactive in this pic, but it’s house cured and mellow.  Had it with the bourekas.  Never had quinoa in tabouleh before – it’s really great and probably the only way I’d eat quinoa.

Then came the sweet part:

It’s not as photogenic because colorful summer fruits are slowly getting out of season.  I had chocolate babka, fruit salad, melon, and date halva.

I’ve got some other food goals for this trip:

• pizza – my brother recommends Beta Pizza (pun name: bet = “house of,” a = “the”)
• rugalach – none of my friends admit knowing about bakeries that sell sleepy Viennoiserie, which is mine & Karl Lagerfeld’s fav type of pastries, might have to drag people into every bakery we see.
• falafel – not sure if I should go for regular or advanced. Had amazing flavored falafel last time, but then tradition is important, too.
• home cooked shabbat dinner – going to my bestie’s house Friday!
• gelato – there are so many gelaterias here.  Dairy is incredible here, feel like I can’t go wrong.
• mocha by Yotveta – coffee milk, sold like chocolate milk.  Preceded Frappuccinos and was my fav as a kid.  Not sure it holds up, though; I had chocolate milk today, and it was too sweet.
• yogurt – Israeli yogurt, plain and mass marketed, is incredible.  It’s smooth and not jello-y like American yogurt, and it has a mellow tart flavor.  But then again, I get that in LA, so maybe flavored yogurt?  I’ll sort it out.
• thorough update of junk food – need to go to a grocery store and survey the new candy and snack selection.
• restaurants my friends recommend – I admit I forget names, but it’s fine because I’ll ask them to pick favorites.  Pretty sure they’re in Neve Zedek.

Wish me luck!

Tags: food, Tel Aviv